The field of the present invention is that of lighting and/or signaling devices for motor vehicles, and the present invention relates more particularly to lighting and/or signaling devices that employ at least one organic electroluminescent diode.
The lighting and/or signaling devices of a motor vehicle have, first, to meet functional criteria, such as the illumination power and the precise arrangement required for producing a specific, approved beam, or, alternatively, a long service life, minimal overall size, and ease of use, and they must, second, meet esthetic conditions imposed by automobile constructors connected with the visual identification of their vehicle.
The use of illumination sources that use one or more electroluminescent diodes has become commonplace.
The use of organic electroluminescent diodes, which are also designated herein by the acronym OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode), has recently increased and these are conventionally composed of two electrodes (an anode and a cathode) between which are placed at least one emission layer, produced from an electroluminescent material, plus an assembly of electron transport layers, the emission layer and the electron transport layers all being produced from organic materials. A voltage has to be applied between the two electrodes in order to excite the transport layers and the emission layer and to obtain the electroluminescence of the material constituting said emission layer.
Although the illumination power emitted by an OLED-type source remains lower than that emitted by a non-organic electroluminescent diode (or LED for Light-Emitting Diode) source, such sources are increasingly used in the automobile field both for actual vehicle lighting or signaling and for esthetic reasons, in particular the visual, luminous signature of the vehicle.
An OLED illumination module for a motor vehicle is generally composed of an emissive part arranged opposite a lens of a headlamp and a connection part via which this illumination module is connected to a device for supplying electrical power to the vehicle lighting and/or signaling device and for controlling same. This connection part is a weak point of such modules, given the very nature of the materials of which the OLED module is composed and their mechanical properties and the plug-in force that the connection part has to withstand upon its insertion into a corresponding socket. The context of installation in a motor vehicle, which produces vibrations, accelerations or else thermal stresses, increases the risk of rupture of this non-robust connection.